Of Peace and Disaster
by Black Lotus Flower
Summary: After the war takes an unexpected turn, Grado is faced with yet another problem; the earthquake of Lyon's vision. Grado must face nature and overcome the damage it already suffered. Will include all FE 8 characters at some point. Random conversations.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.**

**I've been planning this story for a while now and finally just posted it. I couldn't decide what characters to put in it, so I need to thank Soernfangirl04 and Neville 2.0 for their suggestions. As always, thank you for your comments, that is, if you are one of the nice people who actually do review.**

**The beginning of this is pretty much what Knoll told Natasha and Duessel in their conversations. (About the earthquake that would destroy Grado and how him and Lyon foresaw it by using a spell that allowed them to read the ripples of time. In case someone didn't get either of those conversations.)**

"I appreciate what you have revealed to us, but… I still do not understand. Why would he invade Renais? What would he gain from releasing the Demon King from the Sacred stones?" Ephraim and Eirika sat on their mats in a tent across from Knoll, one of Lyon's previous researchers. The somber man took a deep breath then slightly shook his head.

"There is only one man who knows the true answer to that and he is Prince Lyon himself."

"To start a war like this…It…It's not in Lyon, is it? Could he really have been lying to us that entire year we spent together?" Eirika looked despondently at her hands whose fingers patted their tips against her knees. Her set gaze suggested deep thought.

"No. The bond between the three of you was sincere. That I am certain of. The prince wanted nothing more than to save Grado from complete destruction when the earthquake hit. As for how he went about it… I do not know why he chose the path he did. It was only my job to read the ripples of time."

"The earthquake you spoke about." Ephraim directed the conversation back on topic. "Were you able to read when it would hit?"

"We foresaw it within the next five years. It could be tomorrow. It could be the last day of the fifth year. A certain date we could not read clearly."

"Ephraim…what are we going to do? We can't…if this continues, we'll have to fight Lyon face to face…"

"There has to be something more to this than we know. I refuse to believe that Lyon would betray us without reason. Knoll, do you believe that Lyon would listen to us if we requested a seating?"

"I could not say. There were days when the prince was himself; gentle, timid, and caring. Then other days he became a monster not even recognizable as the Prince Lyon we knew. It was times like that which got Father McGregor and I set for execution. I was rescued but when I heard that Father McGregor's execution had been carried through I began to wonder if the prince was still within a mortal's ability to save."

"Father McGregor…but why? He was Lyon's mentor. He looked up to him." Her shoulders tensed as she thought back.

"He believed that our work was blasphemy and voiced it openly. How the prince was… the opposition was nothing to him. No matter what others thought, he was determined to help them. The dark stone began to influence him. Now its like he is the combination of two halves of completely different people."

"Lyon… I refuse to give up on him. I have to at least try to talk some sense into him. Eirika, you continue leading the troops into Rausten. I will take a small group and head into Grado."

"But, brother…going into enemy territory with only a small number of soldiers? How many did you plan on taking?"

"I have eleven in mind. Knoll, would you be willing to return to Grado? I know your execution was scheduled. I will understand if you wish to remain here."

"No, I will come if that is what you wish of me. In these times of darkness I will search for the light. Whatever I may do to help bring an end to this conflict…"

"Thank you. I would also like to bring Franz, Amelia, Ross, and Ewan…"

"But they are so young!" The princess protested. "Do you really believe that they could survive were you attacked in the heart of enemy territory?"

"Yes, I do. They show a large amount of potential. Their lack of experience is what makes them ideal. Experienced soldiers often charge into battle without any specific orders at all, or so was the case with Forde and Kyle. They know that they are yet to be up to par with the other warriors, so from what I've observed they have listened to any advice they could get. Because of our size I will avoid conflict when possible, making the ability to listen to instructions more vital then pure combat skills. Attempted pacifism means nothing if your soldiers begin the battle."

"I hope that you are right…"

"I would also like to take Colm. If we do get captured, his skills would be essential for getting us out of the cells. Another long range attacker would be useful if we get in a fight so I will take Niemi as well. A healer may be of use, so I will talk to L'Arachel. Undoubtedly Dozla will come with her. Lastly, Joshua and Marisa would be good additions because of their skills with a sword. That should be all I need."

"It seems like such a small group… Are you sure that is all that is required?"

"As I mentioned earlier, I have no intention of getting involved in unnecessary conflicts. I honestly believe that I am taking too many. The larger the group, the harder it is to go unnoticed. At our size now, we have just enough people to pass ourselves off as a mercenary group. That will be our disguise as long as we can pose it." He turned back towards Knoll who had a troubled countenance. His face showed clear concern about an issue he had not mentioned. "Is something the matter?"

"What if the Prince is elsewhere? There really is no guarantee that he would be at the castle given the advances in the war. If he isn't, then we would have entered enemy territory for no reason. You will have to give your name in order to hold a seating. If he is away, the guards will attack."

"Then we will have to risk it. If this goes well, we may end the war earlier and with less deaths."

**Because Sacred Stones already had support conversations, the conversations I include at the end of the chapters are just the characters conversing normally and nothing more. I do this for two reasons; A) To give all the characters a chance to speak, even if they aren't necessarily involved with the main plot at that time. B) To feature conversations that I want to take place without transitioning every time I want to show two characters speaking that aren't in the same place as the last two speaking.**

**Ephraim and L'Arachel**

"Princess? Could I speak with you a moment?"

"Ah, Prince Ephraim! Is there something I can assist you with.?"

"Actually, there is. I have decided to take a small force into Grado disguised as a mercenary group to see if we could hold a seating with Lyon. Our group needs a healer. I would ask that you come with us."

"Why certainly! I am pleased that someone has recognized my divine skill! Have no fear, for the lovely banisher of darkness shall ride beside you! All beings of blasphemy shall fall before my overwhelming presence!"

"Um… I am glad to here that then. We leave tomorrow."

"And I shall be there!"

**L'Arachel and Rennac**

"Rennac, we leave tomorrow and part from the rest of the group. Prince Ephraim has demanded that the banisher of light ride at their side and bless their mission!

"Eh? That little side quest of theirs to try to sway the Grado Prince? What a waste of time. He's not going to stop the war just because we ask him to. And what is this "we" thing that you mention. I received no invitation."

"Why, I am your invitation! You are duty bound to throw down your life to protect me at my whimsy!"

"If you hadn't realized yet, princess, our contract had expired a while ago and I have no need to renew it. The pay was just too low beneath my standards."

"No worries! If you wish to stay by my side I will not insult your gesture or affection by forcing gold upon it!"

"Um, I do believe you misinterpreted me. I'm using the end of our contract as a reason to get AWAY from you. I will be staying within Princess Eirika's ranks."

"Well, if you were so desperate to escape me, then why is that you are still here?"

"Because the terms of the contract that I signed with the Princess of Renais are much more suited to my tastes. Trust me. It has nothing to do with you."

"Humph! Your shyness in expressing your true joy while around me grows old! Say whatever you wish, just make sure that you are ready on time!"

"…How do I keep getting involved with this woman? Seems like I'll be trapped forever."

**Innes and Ephraim**

"Innes? Is something the matter? You have been glaring at me for some while now."

"Did you really think that you could leave me to this child's play while you took all the glory for accepting the harder mission? Hardly! What time do we leave?"

"This really isn't a volunteer mission…"

"And who are you that I should take orders from you? Best me before you act so superior.""I wasn't being superior… we were hoping to take only a small force to avoid combat."

"And what do you know of subtlety, swinging your lance around the battlefield in such a manner as you do? One more person, especially me, will not make a large difference in size. Bah! I will find out from another. Mark my words, Ephraim! You will not beat me!

"…This is going to be a failure before it begins…"

**Franz and Forde**

"Hah! Prince Ephraim thought I was so much of a hand full that he recruited my younger brother this time!"

"…No, its nothing like that at all. He probably wants to leave the stronger of the soldiers with Eirika to take on the approaching Grado troops. After all, we plan on not being noticed until we're at the castle."

"You better be careful, you hear? No being lazy like me. Take care of yourself. We need to return home together.'"I will."

"No. You have to promise me. Promise?"

"All right! It's a promise!"

**Ross and Garcia**

"My son is a warrior now… good enough even for missions. You make me proud, Ross."

"Aw, c'mon dad! I'm going on a peace mission! Its not exactly gonna get me a fighter's glory."

"Part of being a good warrior is knowing when battle is not the best answer. This experience will help teach you that. Especially if the desired outcome is reached. It will be impossible to reach the castle without being recognized by someone. Even when you do make it to the castle, there is nothing saying that the prince won't attack you without seeing you."

"Hah! Then I'll cut them down with my axe just like you taught me! Nothing's gonna stand in my way!"

"This is not a game with wooden sticks, Ross. You need to understand that."

"…I know. I'm just…kinda nervous, you know? This is going to be my first time on the battlefield alone."

"You are never alone. You will have allies ready to help you. And your mother smiles at you from above. Even now."

"I know."

**Ewan and Saleh**

"See teacher? See how my skills improved? I told you I would be a worthy student! Now I'm good enough to go on a big mission with Prince Ephraim and everything!"

"Don't get overconfident."

"Huh?"

"You need confidence but overconfidence in your skill leads to underestimating the enemies' power and ultimately death. You would do well to remember that."

"…Well, that wasn't much of a good-bye!"

**I know I had a lot of conversations in this chapter but it would have seemed strange if some people left without talking to others first. I actually had more in mind but cut them because they were either less relevant than the ones above or both the people were going with Ephraim. Eventually, I will have all the characters in. I was going to let the story go after they dealt with Grado castle but I decided to carry the story through the earthquake that hits Grado, too. I'll take suggestions for conversations and as always, R&R. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to my reviewers. I have to say, this story really took off. It got a whole 25 hits. Not sure what to make of that but for those of you who took the time to read, I truly appreciate it and here's chapter 2!**

"Is everyone here?" Ephraim looked around his ranks to see many faces. "Good. Then that is everyone. I'm sure that you all know what it is that we're trying to accomplish. Likewise, I'm sure you all know that we may not succeed. But we must try. For the sake of our lands and for the sake of many lives, we must try to end this as peacefully as possible. Our goal is to not be recognized until we reach the castle and have no choice but to admit to who we are. We will avoid battle and pose as mercenaries."

"A bit of a risky rouse, isn't it? Posing as mercenaries when we want to avoid battle?" Innes crossed his legs, leaning against a tree for balance. "What if someone tries to hire us?"

"We tell them that we are already hired."

"Who would hire a mercenary group to loaf about in time of war? …In the country that started it? If Gradoans sees soldiers in their country who don't bear the Grado crest they will assume we are an enemy and attack. Is it not our goal to not look suspicious?"

"Then what do you suggest? We must act quickly before all the Sacred Stones are broken. We don't have time to discuss something that really has no relevance."

"If we are thought to be suspicious, do you think that nobody will try to turn us into the crown. I'm sure a catch like us would be worth some gold."

Ephraim closed his eyes and sighed slightly through his nose. "We will say what is appropriate for the situation."

"Prince Ephraim…. If I may?" Joshua spoke up, attempting to break the argument. "We could say that we are mercenaries trying to get work from the Grado royal family. Plausible due to the war, makes us sound too arrogant for anyone to want to hire us, and explains why we would be heading towards the castle. No more questions to be asked.

"Then that is what we will do. May we leave? Our disguise will be worth nothing if we never leave camp."

"Oh, I quite agree! The act of hiding ourselves is rather pointless. I fear my reputation of the banisher of darkness has spread a large distance. People will figure out we are not what we say when they see me in your ranks!"

Dusk was not far in the distance. The group had began to set up camp when monstrous howls could be heard coming from the woods around them. Loud howls, angry howls echoed throughout the area. L'Arachel was the first to comment on the matter.

"It sounds as though they're close."

"Then we battle them." Marisa took hold of her sword. "Simple."

"Someone will have to keep watch. Franz, why don't you take the first turn with me?"

"Sure! I'd be honored to!"

"The rest of you, get some rest while you can."

_**Conversations**_

**L'Arachel and Dozla **

"Those beasts are keeping me awake! Dozla, is there not something we can do about them?"

"I would love to, Princess!…But Prince Ephraim commanded that we not attack anything unless we were attacked first."

"This will never do! Those creatures are abominations to the light and should be destroyed! What type of notoriety could be formed from that? That is just ridiculous!"

"Gwa ha ha! I agree! I think I'll go battle some of them right now!"

"That sounds like a brilliant idea! Just let me grab my staff!"

**Ross and Amelia**

"Hey, you! Your name's Amelia, right?"

"Huh? Oh yes, that's me."

"You're from Grado, aren't you?"

"Yes…"

"So what was your country like before this whole war started?"

"What was it like? Why would you want to know something like that?"

"Just curious. I mean, we've been fighting Grado for a while now but I don't know anything about the people. You don't seem so different from me. Kinda got me thinking that I'm killing people who in different circumstances would have been my friends."

"…People in Grado and people in Renais aren't that different at all. Especially now. All their lives are torn apart by the war."

"Well, I'm Ross! Hopefully we can all stop this before it goes any further and Renais and Grado can be friends again."

"Nice to meet you Ross. I hope so, too."

**Joshua and Marisa**

"While we're stuck here on guard duty, why don't we make a little wager?"

"Wager? On what?"

"This coin. You see, we bet gold, I flip this, you call heads or tails and if it lands on what you called you win the wager. If not, then I do."

"…Seems pointless."

"Pointless? Hey now! This is my hobby that we're talking about. And it can't be anymore pointless than standing around here doing nothing! …What do you say?"

"30 gold."

"Hm?"

"I bet 30 gold on heads."

"All right then. …Nope! Sorry, its tails."

"…You cheated."

"Now why would you say something like that?"

"Both the sides of the coin are the same. I saw it while it was in the air."

"Sheesh, you have a sharp eye, don't you?"

**If this chapter seems a little rushed, its because it is. I couldn't think of anything for them to do before they reached Grado but I couldn't make them just get to Lyon right after they decided to leave. The next chapter will be a lot better, if I don't discontinue this story. I have a couple others and the interest in this one doesn't seem too high. I don't know yet. Thanks to those who did read!**


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